Westchester Power and Transparent Energy Make History Via First-Ever Use of Online Auction Technology by a Community Choice Aggregation

Mount Kisco, N.Y. and Fairfield, N.J. – November 10, 2020 – Transparent Energy, the national leader in online energy procurement, today announced it has run a successful set of online reverse auctions for Westchester Power, a Sustainable Westchester Program serving 27 municipalities across Westchester County, New York. The historic auctions, the first ever held for a Community Choice Aggregation, secured more than 1 billion kWh of energy greened by renewable energy certificates from New York State sources (NYS RECs). Westchester Power, the first CCA in NY State, procures energy on behalf of 115,000 residents and small businesses.

The auctions were conducted on August 18th and September 30th for customers in the NYSEG and Con Edison service territories, respectively. These online pricing events tested multiple products, terms, rate-classes and geographical groupings to spur hyper-competition among suppliers (who collectively logged more than 950 total bids over the course of 16 auctions) and helped Westchester Power clearly identify and secure the best rates to meet the needs of both commercial and residential customers, 95 percent of whom wanted their power to come from renewable sources.

Significantly, the Transparent Energy-run process doubled supplier participation over prior years, heightening competition and driving down prices, resulting in winning bids that beat expectations. The resulting 12-month (NYSEG) and 18-month (Con Edison) contracts for standard and green power that were awarded to Eligo Energy and Constellation, respectively, account for more than 1.2 billion kWh of projected electricity demand over the terms and begin on December 1, 2020 and January 1, 2021.

Prior to the auctions, the Westchester Power Program had eliminated over 660,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. Now that number will reach over 1 million metric tons of avoided carbon dioxide, the equivalent of taking more than 227,000 cars off the road for a year. (Source: EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator.)

“The Transparent Energy auction platform was the right tool at the right time for Westchester Power,” said Dan Welsh, Program Director, Westchester Power. “We wanted to make a big push to energize our bidding process and push the market, and that’s what we got. Transparent Energy’s platform is a known entity in the industry, although never before used in the CCA context. Because of this we were able to bring more bidders to the table and make them work harder to provide the value we seek for our municipalities and their residents. That potential was obvious to us and also to our municipal leaders. That was extremely helpful in assuring them of a competitive outcome and certainly encouraging as we solicited their participation in this third round of the aggregation. As yet another ‘first’ for Sustainable Westchester in the CCA sphere, this application of Transparent Energy’s online reverse auction platform again demonstrates the importance of Community Choice Aggregation as an engine of innovation.

“We are proud to report that all participating municipalities renewed their commitment with this contract, and we saw an increase in those choosing the green power default supply. The program stands as the single greatest contributor to reducing emissions in each of the municipalities and helps further the transition to a clean energy future,” concluded Welsh.

Underscoring the transparency of the process, stakeholders from all the municipalities were invited to watch the auctions unfold in real time, and the auctions themselves were recorded.

Added Luke McAuliffe, President, Transparent Energy, “It’s exciting and gratifying to make environmental history with the talented and dedicated team at Westchester Power and Sustainable Westchester program at large. Dan Welsh and his team of practical forward thinkers bring professionalism and grace to the hard work of serving the community’s environmental and business interests.

“Community Choice Aggregations are custom made for Transparent Energy’s auction methodologies. They are inclusive and democratic, while at the same time brutally efficient at getting customers the best price in the market.”

About Sustainable Westchester and Westchester Power

Sustainable Westchester is a nonprofit consortium of Westchester County local municipalities facilitating effective collaboration resulting in sustainability initiatives and cutting-edge innovation. Our goal is to bring socially responsible, environmentally sound, and economically viable solutions that create resilient, healthy, vibrant, sustainable communities.

Sustainable Westchester’s portfolio of energy solutions includes Westchester Power, the first in N.Y. State Community Choice Aggregation program that provides 100% NYS hydropower and fixed electricity supply rates to its customers. Currently, Westchester Power is the default supplier in 27 County municipalities servicing nearly 1/3 of Westchester County customers. To date, the Westchester Power Program has made a significant environmental impact eliminating over 660,000 metric tons of C02. Community Solar and its precursor Solarize Westchester is responsible for driving renewable energy and solar adoption to thousands of Westchester residents and includes a municipal solar integration partnership with NYPA bringing solar benefits to municipalities across the county. EnergySmart HOMES and Commercial Clean Heating & Cooling, an energy efficiency, clean heating and cooling solution provides options for home and commercial buildings through geothermal or air source heat pumps. Both programs provide a valuable solution for all Westchester residents and businesses and importantly for those in current gas constricted areas. On the forefront of innovation and always looking for and developing the next generation of solutions, Sustainable Westchester is working with NYSERDA in the development of direct supply and energy storage and is in development of a Sunshine to EV model for adoption in member municipalities. In summer of 2020, Sustainable Westchester launched in partnership with Logical Buildings, the first-of-its-kind Demand Response program for residential accounts. Sustainable Westchester understands that transportation is a critical component of the energy discussion and its Clean Transportation Project includes the facilitation of municipal fleet conversion and the infrastructure for charging stations. Included in its focus, Sustainable Westchester facilitates a zero waste initiative anchored by app technology for municipal recycling solutions (Recycle Right!). Other areas of focus include land use and complete streets.

For more information, contact Maria Genovesi, Director of Marketing, Communications & Outreach at (914) 242-4725 x104 or maria@SustainableWestchester.org or visit https://sustainablewestchester.org/about/#Philosophy for further details. General and program information can be found at https://sustainablewestchester.org/.

About Transparent Energy

Transparent Energy is the go-to resource for C&I companies and government agencies for energy procurement and energy advisory services. The company’s clients include large automotive, education, financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, municipalities, real estate (REITS and property management), retail, and technology firms. With a proven process delivered by retail energy’s most experienced professionals and state-of-the-art online auction technology, Transparent has driven millions of dollars in operational savings for clients across North America. For more information, see www.transparentedge.com.